by Multiple
Shivers marched through Darcy’s body as Eric kissed his way back up slowly, taking a detour at her breasts. The peaks of her nipples pebbled under the brush of his breath, practically beckoning him onward. He took one sensitive nub into his mouth, the pleasure spiking through her body like a rocket as he sucked gently, then harder. Darcy moaned, unable to control the desire that coursed through her body, and not really wanting to. Only Eric had ever made her feel safe enough for such abandon. And this was a feeling she’d been certain she’d never experience again.
Eric switched his attention to her other nipple as he briefly used his teeth and tugged. Darcy writhed beneath him and arched her back, then placed her hands on his shoulders and pulled him closer.
He maneuvered himself between her thighs as he kissed a tingly path up Darcy’s neck to her chin, and then captured her lips. He paused a moment, his sapphire eyes intent on hers as he slowly pressed his hips forward.
Darcy sighed in pleasure as Eric slid easily into her body, his warmth filling her from the inside out. Every empty space his absence had left in her life and her soul disappeared as his body joined with hers.
Eric rocked against her slowly as he sought out a steady rhythm, moving in time with the beat of their hearts. Darcy’s hands roamed over his taught chest. Each muscle was so etched in her memory she would know it with her eyes closed, but she kept her eyes open. Intense fear waited at the edge of Darcy’s periphery that if she closed her eyes, she would find out that this was all some kind of cruel hallucination. And she was not ready to give up this fantasy just yet. Maybe not ever.
Her moans of pleasure filled the room as Eric picked up his pace, thrusting into her willing body deeply each time. The muscles in his neck stood out with exertion, his jaw firm as he held her gaze, also unwilling to break whatever spell had been cast. Darcy wrapped her legs around him, taking him even deeper; her own body wound tight like a spring about to break.
A light sheen of sweat dotted Eric’s brow. That familiar coil of tension seated itself in the center of Darcy’s stomach, waiting to break wide open as he plunged into her over and over, reaching a part of her soul no other person ever had. The spring tightened, bringing Darcy to that chasm of pleasure, teetering just on the edge of that sparkling moment her body craved.
Eric leaned down, his breath tickling in her ear. “I love you.”
Darcy lifted her hips off of the mattress to meet his thrust as the spring inside her broke, sending her careening over that chasm with a climax that wracked her body from head to toe. Every muscle she had clenched as the ripples of ecstasy rolled inside her in endless waves, sending her flying for that one shining moment where two people become one.
Feeling her spasm beneath him, Eric cried out and plunged into her body one last time, jerking hotly inside her as his own orgasm rocketed through him, fueling her own even further until it was impossible to separate the two.
Breathing ragged, Darcy lay wrapped in Eric’s arms, lost in the love and passion that had fueled their relationship from day one. His chest heaved against hers as they lay skin to skin, bodies connected. Darcy could lie for hours like this, even sleeping contentedly fully immersed in the man she had completely given her heart to. And Eric was always more than happy to oblige. This intimacy was why losing him had left her so empty and alone.
And alone is what she had been. Working extra hours to the point of exhaustion left her even emptier and unwilling to lean on friends and family for support in her grief. Eric’s death had created a black hole in her soul that she just didn’t know how to patch.
Eric’s death.
Those words sliced through Darcy’s mind like a sharp sword, smack dab in the center of this fantasy, this hallucination, this…whatever you wanted to call it. She choked back a sob as tears ran hot trails down her cheeks.
Eric leaned up and wiped the tears away, his blue eyes filled with concern. “Why are you crying?”
Darcy shook her head, still unable to reconcile how Eric was here. Memories of the days spent at the hospital while doctors poked and prodded him for every test rose to the surface. How easily it had been to keep his spirits up, even after the doctors had told her that they’d done all they could, that the cancer had spread too quickly and that all she could do now was keep him comfortable. And even when the end came, how Eric had continued to promise to love her forever.
Darcy shook her head, the memories bouncing around like small rubber balls, pinging at her brain. Why did she have to do this to herself? Why couldn’t she let go?
“You can’t be real. This can’t be real. I watched you die, Eric. I watched you die!” Darcy clamped her eyes shut tightly, and willed all the memories of his death and funeral to disappear.
“As I did you, my love,” he whispered softly, brushing a lock of hair from her forehead.
Confusion at Eric’s words creased her brow. What is that supposed to mean?
In a flash, images sprang to life behind Darcy’s eyes, flashes of memory from what could have been a dream, but felt like…something else.
Sleepless nights. Long hours at the office. Work alone. Eat alone. Go home alone. Repeat.
That schedule was bound to have an unwanted ending.
As if on cue, Darcy saw herself behind the wheel of her car, the road twisting and curving in the darkness as she drove home. Darcy watched her inner movie, witnessing the fatigue finally catch up with her. Her head slumped forward and the car veered off the pavement onto the shoulder, slamming into a tree with enough force to crumple the front end of the vehicle almost to the middle.
And then, darkness.
Darcy’s eyes fluttered open, her heart hammered as she stared into Eric’s thoughtful gaze. “I’m…I’m dead?” she managed to squeak out, the words foreign and difficult for her mouth to get around.
Eric nodded, his hand cradling her cheek. “I always said you worked too hard.”
Darcy licked her lips, her mouth dry as she tried to wrap her mind around what was happening. “But this feels so real. I can’t be dead.”
Eric nudged his nose gently against hers, a wistful smile playing at his lips. “It is real, until you learn to move on. That’s what I’m here for.”
Darcy pondered his words for a moment, still perplexed by the situation, but leaning toward acceptance. She’d always considered Eric her angel, anyway. “Is this heaven, then?”
Eric chuckled and the vibration tickled her chest. “Not quite.”
He pushed himself away and climbed out of the bed, every curve and angle of his body outlined in the low light of the room. He grinned and held out his hand. “It’s time to go.”
Darcy swallowed hard, her heart still beating like a base drum as she took Eric’s hand and rose from the bed. “Where are we going?”
“Home.”
Eric’s form slowly swirled out of focus, turning him into a misty person-shaped outline. Darcy glanced down at her feet as the transformation spread from him to her own person. She stared at her hand in wonder, seeing the room through her palm when she held it in front of her face.
“Our time on this plane is over, my love. We don’t belong here anymore.”
Eric’s words were inside her head like one of her own thoughts. Darcy opened her mouth to speak, then merely thought to him instead.
“What comes next? Where are we going? How do we get there?”
Eric’s laugh brushed inside her mind like a whisper. “All in due time. There are so many things to show you, but you must trust me first. Keep hold of my hand.”
Darcy gripped the transparent form of his strong hand tighter, amazed at the solidity of it. Weightlessness filled her body and soon she was floating above the floor, Eric right beside her. A moment of panic surfaced quickly as they neared the ceiling, but passed with relief as they breached the barrier as if it wasn’t there, and drifted higher up until she could see the entire city below, sparkling like millions of jewels.
�
�This is only the beginning, Darcy, not the end. Let go of this world and I can show you.”
Eric’s form changed again. His outline swirled and morphed into a fine mist that shone with ethereal light, much like the spirals of a far away galaxy. Darcy gazed at the essence of her husband with wonder as she took a deep breath and let everything go. All the worries, all the pain, all the baggage that tied her to this physical world, she released within herself. Each item fell away in succession, the peeling layers leaving her light and free.
With a sigh that sounded like wind rustling through the trees, Darcy’s form shimmered for an instant, then shattered into a million particles of light that were everywhere and everything at once, glittering brightly. With a mere thought, she gathered herself together loosely, the sensation of pure freedom overwhelming as she floated in the night sky, detached from and yet a part of the universe all at the same time.
She drifted over to Eric near enough to feel his own joy at being able to share this with her, and they continued their journey upward to whatever wonders were to come next. And whatever the future held, Darcy was sure that Eric would be right there with her.
They swirled together, their souls intertwined until they mixed into one bright star that probably could be seen from the ground. There was no separation anymore, just two halves of one soul together at last.
“I promised you forever, didn’t I?” Eric’s voice touched her soul like angel wings as they soared through the sky.
Forever.
About the author:
Christle Gray was born and raised in Ohio, but lives in Kentucky with her husband and one frisky black cat. She's a Gemini, which means she's of two minds about everything, and has more projects in progress than she can ever hope to complete in one lifetime. Her interests vary as widely as her opinions, and she's in no short supply of either. Just go ahead and ask. One of the many voices yammering on in her head is bound to answer.
Find Christle on the Web:
www.christlegray.com
www.facebook.com/christlegray
@christlegray on Twitter
www.christlegray.blogspot.com
www.chrissieleeafterdark.blogspot.com
Other titles by Christle Gray:
Second Chances – Contemporary Romance
Hell House: Volume One – Young Adult Paranormal
Through Hell and High Water – Paranormal Romance
Burn With Me: Legend of the Sun Whisperers #1 – Science Fiction Romance
Writing as Chrissie Lee:
Summon Me Swiftly – Erotic Paranormal Romance
The Color of Hunger – Erotic Paranormal Gay Romance
Enjoy this taste of Christle Gray’s Science Fiction Romance, Burn With Me.
Maddelyn Sowers and her niece, Serra, struggle daily to survive. Their once beautiful home has been devastated by a race of alien warriors called the Raknorg, who have stripped the planet of its resources, and unleashed a deadly sickness that is slowly killing the population.
Inexplicably immune from the disease, Maddelyn has witnessed her family members and friends die, young Serra next on the disease's list. Their world is shaken even further when a mysterious stranger literally falls from the sky one night. Though his presence puts them in danger, Maddeyn can't refuse the plea for help in his golden eyes.
Draco Taralundar claims to be a Sun Whisperer, the last of an ancient race descended from the sun. Maddelyn has difficulty reconciling the handsome man with the fantastic tales of her youth, but his capacity for healing and wielding the powers of fire are hard to ignore, renewing her hope for the first time in years. But will the fire that burns deep within his soul save what's left of her heart, or consume them both?
Excerpt:
Maddelyn inhaled deeply. Here goes. “What I mean, Draco Taralundar, is that I know what and who you must be, even if it is a complete impossibility for it to be true.”
“Is that so?” Draco’s words were ripe with skepticism.
Maddelyn nodded, her breath coming faster as she stayed mesmerized by his amber gaze.
“Then say it, Maddelyn Sowers. Say what you believe me to be—this paradox of impossibility that you are convinced I am.” He tilted his head to the side, his blond hair brushing his shoulder as he waited for her to accept his challenge.
Maddelyn felt her heart quicken with his dare, thumping wildly in her chest. Suddenly, she felt utterly foolish for thinking she knew this man’s story, being confronted with the reality of it. She shook her head from side to side, unwilling to follow through with her suspicions. “Never mind. I was mistaken.”
She moved to stand, but Draco caught her wrist and pulled her back to sit on the bed. His fingers were gentle, but firm, as they encircled her wrist. And the heat from his touch was even more intense than it had been last night. A ring of heat that made her hand tingle, the sensation spreading throughout her body, leaving her breathless and aroused.
“I want to hear you say it.” His voice had grown low and seductive, gliding along her skin like a caress. His eyes glowed even more brightly as Maddelyn searched frantically for her own voice, the sparks going off all along her skin quite the distraction.
“Sun Whisperer.” The words came out as a low rasp, so faint Maddelyn wasn’t even sure she had spoken aloud at all.
MOONLIT DREAM
CRYSTAL-RAIN LOVE
Chapter One
He would die tonight
Jason ran at breakneck speed through the woods. Wind whipped across his face so hard it stung his flesh. Blood oozed from his chest wound. If the wolves didn't get him first, he would bleed to death.
He pushed on, ignoring the pain ricocheting through his body. He refused to make it easy for them to get him. He'd survived being beaten by his stepfather as a kid, held at gunpoint in a convenience store as a teen, and hell, he'd survived prison. He had to survive this.
“I will survive this.”
He rounded a bend, then slid to a stop to avoid running straight into a huge rock formation. A wolf bayed in the distance, the sound eerie in the misty night. A cold chill ran the length of his spine as more of them howled in response, the sound closer. The beasts were nearly upon him. They would eat him alive…like the others.
“God, help me.” His plea a desperate whisper as he tightened his grip around the handle of the blade he'd used against one of the beasts earlier, narrowly escaping the massive snapping jaws.
He crouched with his back against the rock, ready to spring, ready to fight until he drew his last breath. If he was to die tonight, he would take as many of the red-eyed monsters with him as he could.
The sound of underbrush being trampled beneath the weight of their paws rang inside his ears as they crept forward. Heart hammering in his throat, Jason began to make out their forms.
Three gray wolves stalked him, their heads low, ready to attack. They assessed him as he studied them. Two medium sized beasts flanked the larger one in the center and fanned out to cover him in three directions.
His hand tightened around the blade. He didn't have a chance in hell of getting all three, but a little relief washed over him knowing these were not the same wolves he'd seen eating people earlier tonight. Those beasts had been huge, with red, glowing eyes. Demon dogs. He'd take on three normal wolves any day over the chance of going toe-to-toe with one of those monsters. The wolf in the middle lowered itself, ready to lunge forward and rip him to shreds, but suddenly stilled, cocking its head to the side.
The hair on the back of Jason's neck stood on end and he felt it too...the sense that something far more powerful than these beasts approached. He'd no more than finished the thought when a dark shadow flew over his head.
A large black wolf landed before him. It lowered its sleek head and issued a warning snarl to the three gray predators. The gray wolves had the advantage. They outnumbered the black wolf three to one and had the creature surrounded. Jason’s jaw dropped open in surprise when
instead of charging, they tucked tail and ran.
The remaining wolf turned and stared him down with eyes that faded from red to a smoky topaz. The animal tilted its head and whined. Though it looked as big as the wolves that’d attacked the people he'd been traveling with and had the same red eyes, he sensed no evil. Instinctively, he knew the animal wouldn't hurt him.
Run. Hide yourself.
He started, twisting his head around to discern where the voice he'd heard so clearly had come from. Was there another person in the woods running from the wild beasts? A woman? Had one survived?
Run, you foolish human. Go! The wolf butted against him with its head, staggered, then fell.
“No way.” He stared at the wolf and, an odd sense of déjà vu washed over him. He'd seen this animal before. He'd dreamed of running through the woods, these woods, with a beautiful black wolf just like her. He'd woken to find the gorgeous creature staring at him from across his prison cell. No way. No possible way. “I am not out here in the woods hearing animals like freaking Doctor Doolittle.”
You can hear me?
Jason’s eyes widened in disbelief. He tried to back away but the large rock formation blocked his escape route; even the jagged heap of stone looked vaguely familiar. This couldn't be happening. He was just having trouble adapting to the outside world. He'd been in prison too long. That had to be it.
“No freaking way,” he whispered as he studied the animal. She could only be described as beautiful. Strong, sleek, with fur like black silk shining in the moonlight. He narrowed his eyes as the moon showed something wet glinting off her side. Tentative and slow, so he wouldn’t startle her, Jason reached out with two fingers and touched the spot. He pulled back bloody fingertips.
